The demand for coniferous trees, such as pines and firs, to make wood products continues to increase. One proposed solution to this problem is to identify individual trees that possess desirable characteristics, such as a rapid rate of growth, and produce numerous, genetically identical, clones of the superior trees by somatic cloning.
Somatic cloning is the process of creating genetically identical trees from tree tissue other than the male and female gametes. Plant cell suspension cultures are widely used for regeneration of somatic embryos. Cryopreservation allows these cultures to be stored potentially indefinitely with minimal maintenance and risks. However, there is a need for efficient methods for regrowth of cryopreserved conifer embryogenic cultures that are amenable to automated or semi-automated processes. The present invention addresses this need.